Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

 Wii U
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 104 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 104
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 104
  3. Negative: 6 out of 104

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  1. Godlygamer
    Dec 28, 2014
    10
    This game is one of the best games I've played this year! (Next to Tomadachi Life and Smash bros. Wii U, of course.) The puzzles are great, not to challenging, but they ramp up in difficulty just a little. The plot, which I won't spoil, Involves Risky Boots asking for Shantae's help to defeat this guy named the pirate master, before he destroys all of sequin land! That didn't spoil it,This game is one of the best games I've played this year! (Next to Tomadachi Life and Smash bros. Wii U, of course.) The puzzles are great, not to challenging, but they ramp up in difficulty just a little. The plot, which I won't spoil, Involves Risky Boots asking for Shantae's help to defeat this guy named the pirate master, before he destroys all of sequin land! That didn't spoil it, right? Anyways, you basically become a pirate! And you have a move set like a pirate! Pirate things happen. So yeah. It depends what version you want to get, though. 3DS version because it 's portable? Wii U version because it's HD? I got the Wii U version. So buy this game now!… Expand
  2. ricklongo
    Feb 4, 2015
    8
    WayForward’s Shantae is one of those series I’ve heard a lot of good things about over the years, but never actually got to play until now. Luckily for me, it seems Pirate’s Curse is the most ambitious game in the franchise so far, with a vast archipelago of quasi-seamless, differently-themed islands to explore. It’s one of those games that manage to strike the elusive balance betweenWayForward’s Shantae is one of those series I’ve heard a lot of good things about over the years, but never actually got to play until now. Luckily for me, it seems Pirate’s Curse is the most ambitious game in the franchise so far, with a vast archipelago of quasi-seamless, differently-themed islands to explore. It’s one of those games that manage to strike the elusive balance between tight platforming, exciting exploration, and a very fair difficulty curve.

    The title chatracter is a half-genie (the offspring of a genie and a human) who lost her magical powers at some point in the franchise’s storyline. To combat the rise of the undead Pirate King, she has to team up with Risky Boots, a pirate who lost her crew and weapons, and who happens to be Shantae’s original arch-nemesis.

    As you start the game, Shantae only has her hair whip attack to defend herself against the hordes of monsters you’ll encounter, but, true to the game’s metroidvania aspirations, each island you explore holds one of Risky Boots’ lost weapons inside a dungeon, which Shantae can use to help her in the quest. Each weapon is assigned to a different button, meaning you don’t ever need to switch between them. All the while, the gamepad functions as a sort of backpack, holding expendable items (available to use by touching), a quest and collectibles log, and a map of each section of the world.

    The storyline is nothing to write home about, but manages to entertain with its self-aware, silly humor. The characterization of each island is top-notch, and the platforming is very rewarding, mixing action and puzzles in a way that feels just right. Everything is in its right place, with the level design providing many of the “a-ha” moments that tend to be so enjoyable in exploration-heavy titles.

    Another point of note is the soundtrack, which was written by indie darling Jake Kaufmann. From the arab touches on Shantae’s home island of Scuttle Town to moodier compositions in darker parts of the world, your ears are in for a treat. It doesn’t soar quite as high as his impeccable work on Shovel Knight, but then again not much does.

    It’s hard to find any significant problems with Shantae’s third adventure, making it a very easy recommendation for platforming fans. It’s not the most innovative game around, but it distills its metroidvania sensibilities is such a flawless way that it’s going to keep you entertained for a significant amount of time (I spent over 11 hours to get 100% without outside assistance). Add the goofy characters and clever writing and you have a title that’s quite easy to fall in love with.

    Rating: 8.5    … Expand
  3. MEJO86
    Mar 30, 2015
    7
    A Metroidvania type of game with nice controls and a colourful main character. The game is somewhat immature and sexist at times with all young female characters having over developed breasts and revealing cloths. The game could have been longer but I like the atmosphere and the music (especially We love Burning Town). Shantae is a really promising character and the game series seems nice.A Metroidvania type of game with nice controls and a colourful main character. The game is somewhat immature and sexist at times with all young female characters having over developed breasts and revealing cloths. The game could have been longer but I like the atmosphere and the music (especially We love Burning Town). Shantae is a really promising character and the game series seems nice. I get that she's supposed to be a belly dancer and therefore supposed to look a bit sexy but it's a little too much for my taste.… Expand
  4. VonSeux
    Apr 8, 2015
    10
    There are people on the world who believes Guacamelee is a great metroid/castlevania game. I guess they haven't play Shantae yet. This game NAILS everything. Art, characters, gameplay, story, variety, fun powerups, bosses, etc... get it!
  5. TheMitch
    Sep 29, 2015
    8
    Seeing this on special, I thought, why not, before proceeding to purchase the game. And I'm really glad I'd done so. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a solid game. A very solid game. Great gameplay, amazing humour, a charming art style, and dangerously catchy tunes. Something I really like about this game, however, is how well it handles upgrades. So often in games do we see upgradesSeeing this on special, I thought, why not, before proceeding to purchase the game. And I'm really glad I'd done so. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a solid game. A very solid game. Great gameplay, amazing humour, a charming art style, and dangerously catchy tunes. Something I really like about this game, however, is how well it handles upgrades. So often in games do we see upgrades become useless shortly after being acquired. There's none of that here. Every upgrade is useful from the time you get it right up until the very end of the game. In this day and age, it's very hard for a game to show amazing originality, but Shantae and the Pirate's Curse holds its own very well. It's not the most outstanding platformer I've ever played, but it is definitely one of the most solid. Absolute pleasure to play this game and I highly recommend it to anyone, gamers and casuals alike.… Expand
  6. cliffdsixx
    Jun 23, 2016
    10
    My one, single complaint was the princess part. Everything else about this game, it's hard to top this. The characters might be a little unnecessarily sexualized, but their character traits drive them much more than their design, save a select few, but even those situations are just humorous. Very intuitive, just overall amazing. Cannot wait for 1/2 Genie Hero
  7. Yotsuba
    Mar 1, 2015
    10
    Best entry in a great series. Full of charming characters, fun platforming, and interesting boss battles. The Wii U counterpart to the 3DS version gives us HD character portraits in place of the 3D effect. Both are great and which you pick up is purely a matter of preference.
  8. Sasukah
    Mar 7, 2015
    9
    One of the best 2D side scrolling games I've played for a while. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a fantastic game with great story telling and level design. Also it's quite amusing to see most of the girl characters to show off a bit of cleavage. The fact that this is a E+10 game with boobies flying all over the place is beyond me. The soundtrack for the game is spectacular as it isOne of the best 2D side scrolling games I've played for a while. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a fantastic game with great story telling and level design. Also it's quite amusing to see most of the girl characters to show off a bit of cleavage. The fact that this is a E+10 game with boobies flying all over the place is beyond me. The soundtrack for the game is spectacular as it is theme around Arabian-styled music. Without spoiling much, if you have some money lying around pick up this game and have a fun-filled time!… Expand
  9. Setsuki
    Jun 1, 2016
    8
    Shantae and the pirate's curse is the first Shantae game I've played. It's also one of the rare metroidvania games I enjoyed.
    The gameplay is almost flawless, the graphics are beautiful and colorful, the animation is fluid and pleasant to watch, the music is great, the level design is really good, I almost feel it's a perfect game.
    Almost. Because I just couldn't stand the writing.    Shantae and the pirate's curse is the first Shantae game I've played. It's also one of the rare metroidvania games I enjoyed.
    The gameplay is almost flawless, the graphics are beautiful and colorful, the animation is fluid and pleasant to watch, the music is great, the level design is really good, I almost feel it's a perfect game.

    Almost. Because I just couldn't stand the writing. It's atrocious. It's not bad as in "We didn't care about the story, we cared only about the gameplay". It seems to think that its characters are memorable and that its humour is witty. It's really not.
    Oh god the characters. They're as bland as it can get, and I felt filthy reading some of the texts, especially the (thankfully rare) "women are dumb and think only about makeup" ones. ("haha, that girl's fat ! That's her only character trait !")
    It's not the sexualization of the characters that bothered me, it's the fact that it's combined with really, really stupid characters.

    Just skip the texts and you'll be fine.    … Expand
  10. MohymanAwwad
    Sep 6, 2015
    10
    Holy **** this game is amazing. The graphics and scenery are beautiful and the cut scenes with fully drawn characters are even better. The controls r great and the gameplay is just amazing. This game deserves love atleast more love than shovel knight cause i find this game to be better thant sk.
  11. CandarianGaming
    May 6, 2016
    9
    2D platformer that is challenging, chaotic, has a ton of puzzles to solve and has a unique open world feel about it. Upgrades and secrets that'll have you replaying older levels and the use of the gamepad is awesome.
  12. hirschlord
    Mar 16, 2019
    9
    very nice game , love the elephant and other animal transformations :D would be nice with more epic boss designs later

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best Wii U Game of 2014
16
#16 Most Discussed Wii U Game of 2014
13
#13 Most Shared Wii U Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. FNintendo
    Mar 1, 2015
    90
    Shantae and the Pirate's Curse ticks all the right boxes as far as fun and entertaining adventures are concerned. It may not be the toughest or most challenging experience, but it's another reason to appreciate the Shantae series, especially for those who seek some old-school style gameplay with a beautiful graphical background.
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  2. Impulsegamer
    Feb 15, 2015
    90
    A light-hearted platformer with plenty of action. A swashbuckling journey awaits you!
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  3. Metro GameCentral
    Feb 11, 2015
    80
    Some of the best 2D sprite work ever seen in a video game, and all used to support an impressively varied and imaginative Metroidvania.
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